For courses in Orientation to College for Student-Athletes. Developed and written specifically for student-athletes, this reader-friendly guide offers practical strategies for succeeding in college. Filled with sage and tested advice, the book addresses the most salient academic, personal, and career issues affecting college athletes--from scheduling and time management to maintaining academic motivation and personal well-being. With a meaningful foreword by NCAA President, Myles Brand, the book speaks to the reader from "both sides of the desk" by providing tips from 35 academically successful student-athletes, as well as time-tested advice from two faculty members (the authors) with decades of experience teaching and mentoring college athletes. A valuable resource for anyone entering or soon to enter the world of college athletics, and their advisors, counselors, coaches, and parents, this book uses an inviting format to pack suggestions and tips into practical advice that can guide one's path to success.

High school senior Michael "Tootie" Mayberry has a dream of becoming a professional football player-but he faces one obstacle, COLLEGE. Over 480,000 student-athletes like Michael "Tootie" Mayberry want to play professionally, but less than 3.5% will. They train hard, planting and watering the mental seed that tells them they will reach the pinnacle of their sport. In the process, they often pick the easiest major available, and after graduation, they pay for it. HOW DO STUDENT-ATHLETES GET TO THIS POINT? Join "Tootie" Mayberry as he embarks on his college career, balances the stresses of high-level performances on the field and in the classroom, and fights through other challenges student-athletes face.

Many books have been written on the evils of commercialism in college sport, and the hypocrisy of payments to athletes from alumni and other sources outside the university. Almost no attention, however, has been given to the way that the National Collegiate Athletic Association has embraced professionalism through its athletic scholarship policy. Because of this gap in the historical record, the NCAA is often cast as an embattled defender of amateurism, rather than as the architect of a nationwide money-laundering scheme. Sack and Staurowsky show that the NCAA formally abandoned amateurism in the 1950s and passed rules in subsequent years that literally transformed scholarship athletes into university employees. In addition, by purposefully fashioning an amateur mythology to mask the reality of this employer-employee relationship, the NCAA has done a disservice to student-athletes and to higher education. A major subtheme is that women, such as those who created the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW), opposed this hypocrisy, but lacked the power to sustain an alternative model. After tracing the evolution of college athletes into professional entertainers, and the harmful effects it has caused, the authors propose an alternative approach that places college sport on a firm educational foundation and defend the rights of both male and female college athletes. This is a provocative analysis for anyone interested in college sports in America and its subversion of traditional educational and amateur principles.

Scandals in College Sports includes 21 classic and contemporary case studies and ethical dilemmas showcasing challenges that threatened the integrity and credibility of intercollegiate sports programs at a range of institutional types across the country. Cases cover NCAA policy violations and ethical dilemmas involving student-athletes, coaches, and other stakeholders, including scandals of academic misconduct, illegal recruiting practices, sexual assault, inappropriate sexual relationships, hazing, concussions, and point shaving. Each chapter author explores the details of the specific case, presents the dilemma in a broader sociocultural context, and ultimately offers an alternative ending to help guide future practice. This timely book highlights the impact that sports have on institutions of higher education and guides college leaders and educators in informed discussions of policy and practice.

This book proposes two reforms to the present commercialization of NCAA Division I football and basketball and the exploitation of African American student-athletes. In this book, the author —presents detailed data about revenue generation in college sports, —presents compelling reasons on why student-athletes in the revenue sports of Division I football and basketball are exploited and why it happens most often to African American students, —provides a real funding model for fair revenue distribution and compensation for Division I student-athletes in revenue sports, —proposes real alternatives for elite student-athletes in all sports to achieve their professional goals and earn a degree without contributing to commercialization of college sports and exploitation of student-athletes, —explains how some African American students are complicit in their own exploitation and how to stop this practice, and —recommends ways that all student athletes can use their collective power and voice to implement changes.

“Like Curt Flood and Oscar Robertson, who paved the way for free agency in sports, Ed O’Bannon decided there was a principle at stake... O’Bannon gave the movement to reform college sports...passion and purpose, animated by righteous indignation.” —Jeremy Schaap, ESPN journalist and New York Times bestselling author In 2009, Ed O’Bannon, once a star for the 1995 NCAA Champion UCLA Bruins and a first-round NBA draft pick, thought he’d made peace with the NCAA’s exploitive system of “amateurism.” College athletes generated huge profits, yet—training nearly full-time, forced to tailor coursework around sports, often pawns in corrupt investigations—they saw little from those riches other than revocable scholarships and miniscule chances of going pro. Still, that was all in O’Bannon’s past...until he saw the video game NCAA Basketball 09. As avatars of their college selves—their likenesses, achievements, and playing styles—O’Bannon and his teammates were still making money for the NCAA. So, when asked to fight the system for players past, present, and future—and seeking no personal financial reward, but rather the chance to make college sports more fair—he agreed to be the face of what became a landmark class-action lawsuit. Court Justice brings readers to the front lines of a critical battle in the long fight for players’ rights while also offering O’Bannon’s unique perspective on today’s NCAA recruiting scandals. From the basketball court to the court of law facing NCAA executives, athletic directors, and “expert” witnesses; and finally to his innovative ideas for reform, O’Bannon breaks down history’s most important victory yet against the inequitable model of multi-billion-dollar “amateur” sports.

DIVA challenge to the present system of college athletics /div

In this thought-provoking new book, John C. Barnes examines the contemporary state of commercial college athletics as a guide for current and potential administrators, coaches, regents, and others involved in collegiate athletic operations and decision-making. Each chapter provides an overview of an industry shaped by such current realities as Title IX requirements, commercial investments, student testing, and television contracts. Barnes provides an accessible outline of the historical background and potential future of the commercial college athletics industry from a nonjudgmental perspective. Same Players, Different Game not only serves as a text and guide for governance and leadership but also as a primer for the economic and political realities of modern college athletics that students and sports fans will find fascinating.

High school sports programs are not simply one-dimensional after-school recreational diversions from the rigors of academic life. In The Other Classroom: The Essential Importance of High School Athletics, Michael J. Coffino showcases how high school athletics have a positive influence on the student athletes beyond just the sports experience itself. He argues that the lessons learned, tools acquired, and values instilled have an enduring impact that prepare young athletes for the many challenges they will face in life. Coffino reveals how a well-considered, value-based athletic program effectively works alongside the standard educational curriculum to teach athletes a wide range of beneficial behaviors—including self-advocacy, goal-setting, leadership, conflict resolution, and more. Drawing on extensive research, illuminating anecdotes, heartfelt commentary from original interviews, and Coffino’s personal coaching experience, The Other Classroom issues a passionate challenge to school administrators, coaches, athletic directors, parents, and local communities to bring greater focus on how their high school programs consider the long-term well-being of student athletes. It urges schools to emphasize the importance of preparing student athletes to flourish as adults in whatever they pursue once their formal education is complete.

Innovative readings and blog posts show how sociology can help us understand everyday life.